Buffalo Bill Among the Sioux; Or, The Fight in the Rapids

by Prentiss Ingraham

The Indian nodded, and immediately signaled with the rope for the next man to be tied on.

Buffalo Bill meanwhile stepped forward cautiously along the ledge until he came to the wide entrance of the principal cave. As he approached it, a short figure rose up from behind a rock. It was one of the Cave Dwellers keeping vigilant watch.

Before the man could utter a yell, Buffalo Bill had gripped him tightly by the throat, so that he could only gurgle feebly. Yet he managed to draw his tomahawk and raise it above his head to dash out the brains of the king of scouts.

Taking his right hand from the man’s throat, which he still held tightly gripped with the left, Buffalo Bill caught his wrist and wrenched away the weapon. He struck the Cave Dweller a heavy blow on the head with the flat of the blade, which knocked him senseless.

The border king then stepped swiftly into the cave. He could see several recumbent forms lying on the ground, and from the back of the cave there came a confused hum of voices. The light of the moon shone full into the entrance, and the place was almost as light as day.

The intruder had not taken more than a few paces when he stumbled against a body lying in the shadow. The man arose and bent forward into the moonlight, uttering a low cry of surprise.

Buffalo Bill raised the tomahawk, but before he could use it he saw that the man was none other than his blood brother, Red Cloud, the Navaho chieftain.

Without a word Red Cloud extended his hands, and Buffalo Bill saw that they were bound together by a rawhide rope. He drew his bowie knife and cut the bonds, and then handed the Indian the tomahawk which he had taken from the sentry at the mouth of the cave.

Red Cloud rose to his feet and eagerly gripped the weapon. “I expected you, my brother,” he said simply.

The cry which the Indian had given when Buffalo Bill stumbled against him had aroused one of the Cave Dwellers sleeping near by. He was, as it appeared afterward, the chief of the tribe, and he raised his body on his elbow and glanced around suspiciously.